Several residents have questioned why Joslyn Road is receiving maintenance and repairs as it is far from being the worst road in the Township. This project on Joslyn is a little unique.

It is being paid for with federal dollars that are just available for safety-related projects and are awarded on a competitive project-by-project basis. We were successful in our bid for this funding because there was a fatality on this section of Joslyn. The project is allowing us to pave and widen the shoulders as well as install rumble strips. Frankly, the resurfacing is almost ancillary. However, by resurfacing the road before it deteriorates, we are able to extend the useful life of the road surface by about 10 years. This is a very cost-effective form of routine maintenance that we SHOULD be doing on all our roads (if funding were available). Frankly, it is only because we have a very knowledgeable group in our Programming Division that is intimately familiar with all available federal funding options that we were able to get this funding -- it's pretty rare to be able to get safety dollars for this type of project.

This money was not available for Waldon and could not have been used anywhere else.

However, we are very aware of the condition of Waldon and are very actively seeking funding for that road. Because of its condition, Waldon requires a much more intensive (and therefore much more expensive) treatment than what we are doing on Joslyn.

We have applied for federal funds for Waldon. However, this is a competitive process and far more projects are submitted to compete for available funds than there are funds each year. Additionally, we submitted this project for the state's Roads and Risk Reserve Funds (state surplus dollars), but it is not yet known which projects will receive that funding or even how those projects are being chosen by the state Legislature.